Episode 139 – Hunt (2)
Kkaang—!
“…Kugh!”
Fenry’s expression twisted in pain.
The mont she blocked the left crow blade, her body was pushed back, and the right crow blade sliced deeply into her side as it passed by.
They were unbelievably strong and fast.
Elton rushed over to help her, but instead, he beca an easy target. The twin crow blades crossed, aiming to devour him entirely.
His palm was torn open as his dagger was knocked away, and one of the crow blades dug deeply into his thigh.
The two brothers charged again.
Just as Howell aid at Elton’s neck, intending to finish him off—
Chaang—!
“Who the hell—?!”
A sharp arrow flew out of nowhere, saving Elton.
With Fenry joining the fray, the twins lost their chance to finish him off. Jack and Howell glared in the direction the arrow had co from with irritated expressions, but only for a mont—
“Huh?”
Their eyes slowly widened, then glead with excitent.
Standing there was a beautiful elf aiming her bow at them. Though the dark elf in front of them was undoubtedly alluring, she was too dangerous to toy with, so they had chosen to eliminate her. But this elf, with her milky-white skin, was different.
She looked fragile, and there was a captivating charm about her that drew n in. Despite her furious expression, the twins saw her as nothing more than a rare and delightful plaything.
Identical faces and identical eyes.
Lust burned in the twins’ gaze.
She was an elf so famous in Beneta that it was impossible not to recognize her.
Especially for the twins—she was at the very top of their abduction list.
“It’s her—the Blue Rose Mada. Her na’s Nella, right?”
“I’ve always wanted to see her in person. What a lucky day.”
“This is our chance. Let’s finish up here quickly and take that elf as our trophy. We’ll have a great ti with her.”
“There’s one more prize to bring back—the shaman woman. Kekeke.”
Damascus Crow.
The Ring of Strength and the Ring of Agility.
Ard with ancient artifacts, the thought of defeat never crossed their minds.
Hearing the twins’ crude remarks, Fenry’s expression hardened.
They were openly spewing filth about Nella right in front of her, as if she didn’t even matter.
Are they seriously ignoring , Fenry Chaser?
She summoned her long pipe and took a deep drag.
Hoo—
As she exhaled a long plu of smoke, her eyes, fixed on the twins, turned pitch-black.
“You filthy bastards…”
As her hands turned black, the shadows around her rippled and quickly coalesced into a massive hand rising from the ground.
It was a form of shadow summoning—a technique that called forth parts of the King of Shadows.
The very presence of the King of Shadows unfolded before them.
Boom! Boom-boom! Boom!
The enormous black fist swept through the surrounding forest like a storm. Wherever the shadow passed, only destruction remained.
Shattered trees and broken rocks lay scattered.
In an instant, the area had transford into ruins.
“You crazy bitch!”
“Fall back!”
The overwhelming destructive power forced the twins into defensive maneuvers.
With the pipe in her mouth, Fenry’s fierce eyes glead as she swung her two fists rapidly, forcing the twins to focus solely on evading her attacks.
From an outsider’s perspective, it looked as though the twins were monts away from being crushed to death by the shadow fists.
But as the battle dragged on, Nella’s expression grew darker.
This isn’t looking good.
The King of Shadows’ techniques were powerful bursts of concentrated magic.
Each strike could deal devastating damage.
However, if the attacks didn’t land, they were useless.
Against multiple enemies, the technique was highly effective due to its sheer destructive power, but against skilled opponents like Jack and Howell, it was difficult to fully unleash its potential.
Especially against agile foes.
Did Master not know this?
“No…?”
There was no way Master didn’t know.
Elton had sustained severe injuries in the earlier battle.
He remained slumped on the ground so distance away, unable to get up.
For Fenry to use such a mana-draining technique in front of the two brothers ant only one thing—the situation was dire.
The brothers were that powerful.
“Tch!”
Ting, ting, ting!
Nella fired arrows rapidly, but the twins rely wagged their fingers at her, mocking her efforts.
The tension they had felt earlier, when Fenry first summoned the massive shadow fist, had eased. Now, they seed more relaxed, having realized that Fenry’s attacks weren’t as threatening while they were using the ancient artifacts.
“What should I do…?”
Seeing Fenry’s anxious expression, Nella felt a knot of worry in her chest.
She didn’t regret exposing herself to save Elton, but now she feared the consequences.
“Master can’t maintain this for long…”
She knew her master well.
If Fenry couldn’t take down the twins before the King of Shadows technique wore off, she would surely plan an escape.
But what about Elton?
Fenry could only take one person with her when retreating through the shadows.
Clenching her teeth, Nella kept firing arrows.
“Please, let this work!”
She poured all her desperation into each shot. But just then, a bizarre howl echoed from behind her.
Grrrrraaaagh!
“…!”
Startled, she turned around to see the dense forest swaying ominously.
Monts later, a human figure with pale white eyes erged, parting the foliage.
Though it hesitated briefly under the moonlight, it quickly opened its mouth wide and charged toward Nella’s direction.
Kang!
“…Ah!”
She swiftly aid and fired an arrow, striking the figure right between the eyes—but, impossibly, the arrow bounced off.
As the creature tilted its head back, then straightened it again, raising its sharp claws toward her, Nella instinctively shut her eyes tightly.
At that mont—
Kaaaang—!
A sword swung from behind the charging creature.
When it struck the creature’s neck, a tallic clang rang out.
The creature’s head twisted grotesquely as it was slamd into the ground.
Then, a man rushed forward and struck the sa spot again, severing its head entirely.
Breathing heavily, the man stood with his back to her, gripping two different swords tightly in each hand.
When he slowly turned his head, Nella’s eyes widened in recognition.
“Lochter!!!”
“Good thing I wasn’t too late.”
Seeing Lochter, Nella imdiately thought of soone else.
“Where is he? Where is Arthur?!”
Lochter pointed upward with a nod, and Nella, following his gesture, looked up with a trembling expression.
Standing tall atop a high tree branch was Arthur Clayton, bowstring drawn taut.
The arrow on his bow was massive, more akin to a spear than an arrow.
His sharp gaze was locked onto the twins.
A mont later, he glanced down at Nella, gave her a brief reassuring smile, then hardened his expression and gave a signal.
“Now!”
At Arthur’s signal, Lochter charged toward the battlefield, shouting to Nella.
“Just in case—get up into the trees!”
Though she didn’t know why, she trusted him. Without hesitation, she climbed the tree Arthur was perched on.
There were many things she wanted to ask him, but sensing the tension in the air, she held her tongue.
From her elevated position, she could see the entire battlefield clearly.
She saw Lochter Felice charging in, a familiar face.
Another figure was approaching from a different direction—one she didn’t recognize but could identify at a glance.
Karl Bastain.
Unlike Lochter, who rushed directly into the fray, Karl maintained a distance and began circling the battlefield rapidly.
He held a thin dagger, sharp as a needle.
As the two n seamlessly joined the battle and the twins finally noticed them—
Thwaang!!
With a resounding crack, Nella’s long hair billowed in the fierce wind.
Looking up in surprise, she saw Arthur release his bowstring.
A massive blue arrow shot forward, aiming to pierce the twins.
It was the signal for the ambush to begin.
The terrifying force of the shot sent a chill down Jack’s spine, and his face contorted in alarm.
“Dodge it!”
At Jack’s command, the twins split apart, abandoning the strongest formation they had perfected while using their artifacts. The sheer force of the arrow left them no choice but to evade.
But it was too late.
Jack gritted his teeth and swung his crow blade at the arrow.
Ka-ka-ka-ka-kang—!
The clash created a crushing pressure that Jack barely endured.
“Ugh…! Graaagh!”
Jack let out a strained shout as a dense light erupted from his ring. Using the power of the ring, he managed to deflect the massive arrow.
The arrow pierced through the forest, carving a clean path through the trees.
Jack was certain that if it weren’t for the Damascus Crow and the Ring of Strength, he would have been impaled and killed.
As he staggered backward after deflecting the arrow, the danger wasn’t over yet.
With their formation broken, soone rushed in, seizing the opening.
Another ambush.
“B-Brother!”
“Damn it!”
Howell cried out in panic.
Jack’s face twisted with urgency as he saw soone ambush his brother at incredible speed.
It was Lochter Felice, baring his fangs and closing in on Howell.
Instead of targeting Jack, Lochter went after the weaker link—Howell. A man known for his brute strength was now launching a stealth attack?
Howell, sensing the imminent danger, tried to release his Oxidation Poison, but the mont he did, Lochter smashed a waterskin, neutralizing the poison instantly.
Terrified, Howell turned and tried to flee.
Seeing his brother in peril, Jack frantically summoned wind blades with all ten fingers and rained them down on Lochter.
However—
Papapapapapack!
“…!”
The wind blades were blocked by a massive shadow hand that appeared in front of Lochter.
The hand absorbed the attacks, its torn surface quickly regenerating.
Fenry, her blood-soaked face twisted in a fierce grin, approached Jack.
“You’re playing with , right?”
“Y-You…!”
Jack’s face contorted with rage.
Puck!
“Gaaah!”
A thin dagger embedded itself in Howell’s thigh as he fled.
Wh-where?!
The dagger had been thrown with such precision and stealth that Howell hadn’t even noticed it coming. Though he managed to deflect subsequent daggers with his crow blade, Lochter’s relentless attacks left him struggling to defend himself.
Pushing the limits of his agility with the Ring of Agility, Howell barely evaded Lochter’s strikes while deflecting the daggers.
He waited anxiously for his brother to co to his aid.
But—
One dagger.
Then another.
And another.
“Aaaaagh!”
No help ca.
In the end, Howell collapsed to the ground, clutching the daggers embedded in his body.
Neither his Oxidation Poison, his Ring of Agility, nor his crow blade could save him.
Despair washed over him as a figure with a dagger approached.
It was Karl Bastain.
Soone he knew.
“W-Wait, just a mont…!”
Slash—!
Howell’s head flew into the air.
Lochter, who had struck the final blow, casually flicked the blood off his sword and rushed toward where Jack was standing.
Watching the scene, Karl shook his head.
Arthur had told them not to waste ti and to finish the enemy off imdiately, but he hadn’t expected Lochter to kill Howell in a single stroke.
“I’d better be careful around that guy.”
Thud—
Howell’s severed head rolled to a stop at Karl’s feet.
Looking down at Howell’s wide-eyed, lifeless head, Karl muttered quietly.
“When I got captured, I only asked for a mont’s reprieve, and you guys beat senseless. Let’s call it even with this.”
With that, Karl stomped on Howell’s head.
He had no intention of mocking the dead.
Arthur had simply ordered him to destroy the head to prevent the enemy from retrieving any information from it.
Sothing about mory extraction…
Karl took Howell’s ring and crow blade as spoils of war.
“These are mine. I’ve got no use for won anyway.”
He swung the red crow blade once, then headed toward where Elton lay.
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